Paraguay Holidays - 2003

New Year's Day is the first day of the year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1.New Year tradition in Paraguay is to let all the Closets Open. The doors and windows are kept open at midnight. People make loud noises by banging their pots and pans. They light fireworks. These noisy activities and fireworks are believed to drive the evil spirits away. This is one reason why they keep their cupboards, doors and windows open.The day is marked by parties, both public and private, carnivals, music, dancing, fireworks and feasting throughout the nation. Asuncion is the largest city in Paraguay and is the best place to catch the action.

Every year Paraguay,celebrates Heroes’ Day on the 1st of March. It is also known as the Paraguay’s National Defense Day. It is a national holiday.The holiday commemorates the bravery of the country’s army and famous leader Marshal Francisco Solano López. Paraguay’s Heroes’ Day is marked with public celebration such as parade, public speeches, concerts, cultural shows, among others. Various political groups may also hold demonstrations to remember those who perished in the war.

Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday,is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.Maundy Thursday is a public holiday in Paraguay.

Good Friday, also called Holy or Great Friday. It is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday (Pascha). It commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Golgotha.It is the day after Maundy Thursday. This is an observance that involves people fasting and praying. Many church services are held in the afternoon, usually around noon or midday to 3pm, to remember the hours when Jesus hung on the cross.

International Workers' Day (also known as May Day) is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world.

Paraguay celebrates its independence day on May 15.In the larger towns and cities parades are organised and people eat typical Paraguayan food like Sopa Paraguayan, corn, and other Indian foods as well as the usual drink.In the campo area of Paraguay, Independence Day is celebrated with family and friends, often outdoors by having barbecues, playing football, loud music.

Chaco Armistice day celebrated on June 12. It remembers the Chaco War was campaigned between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of a great part of the Gran Chaco region of South America.About 100,000 men lost their lives in the war. Chaco Armistice Day also called Chaco Peace Day in Paraguay.It is an official holiday in Paraguay. The final border between the involved countries was settled on April 27, 2009, nearly 74 years after the war. During the ceremony, the need for a spirit of “pacification and confraternity” was made, highlighting the theme of the Chaco Armistice Day celebrations. This day typically has special parades in honor of those who fought valiantly for Paraguay and its conquest of the Chaco region.

Asunción, Paraguay's sleepy capital, celebrates the anniversary of its founding on the 15 August every year. There are official speeches, parades and demonstrations of traditional and folk dancing. The Spanish word asunción means assumption in English. It refers to the Assumption of Mary; the full name means The Very Noble and Loyal City of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Assumption.

Every year September 29 is National Holiday in Paraguay celebrated as Boqueron Battle Victory Day,Commemorates a victorious battle over Bolivia during the 1932 Chaco War.

This is a national holiday in paraguay. In the Catholic Calender, the day Virgin of Caacupe believed Jesus. Divine intervention in images of Virgin of Caacupe. Thousands of people visit Caacupe on Dec, 8th to participate the city's annual celebration of the festival.The request may be for healing of an illness, for continued good health, for a job, or for a future spouse for themselves or for a relative. At times they make a pilgrimage to thank the Virgin and fulfill the promise that they made to her for an answered request. The celebration involves fireworks and dancing.

Christmas in Paraguay is celebrated in a deeply religious way. The country focuses on the birth and teachings of Jesus Christ. All the churches are decorated with lights and huge multicolor outdoor Christmas ornaments. The parks and the town squares are also adorned with big stars, Santa Claus and other lights decorations.